As I’m sure you’re aware by now, Peter O’Toole passed away this past weekend at the age of 81, which is obviously a huge loss to the film world, even though O’Toole had already retired from acting. Among the many remembrances I read, the one that immediately struck a chord for me was this tweet from Patton Oswalt:

When I did RATATOUILLE, the animators were SALIVATING at the prospect of rendering Peter O’Toole’s read of “POP-u-lar.” #RIPPeterOToole

And on that note, my girlfriend and I resolved to rewatch Brad Bird’s brilliant Ratatouille. I’m unashamed to admit I was teary-eyed by the end of it as usual, thanks in no small part to Anton Ego’s climactic flashback and monologue, performed brilliantly by Mr. O’Toole. Like any good climax should, that sequence displays the core of the movie, one that moves me the way few other movies do these days.

As of last night, I was going to write a review of Out of the Furnace (a very solid movie in my opinion) and go to a preview screening of 47 Ronin today. Instead, I drank a bit and decided to watch one of my few Black Friday purchases, a Blu-ray of Tomorrow Never Dies. Now I would say that this purchase was partly due to nostalgia; Tomorrow Never Dies was the first Bond movie (and one of the first movies at all) that I saw in theaters, with my dad no less. But I’ve watched the movie more than often enough in my time, not even including tonight, to feel that my passion for it is really justified and earned. I regret nothing, and in exchange I was fully reminded how much I love one of my all-time favorite Bond movies. My (spoiler-filled) reasons why after the jump:

Okay folks, here we go: one last big rodeo to close out 2013, hopefully on a high note. After the drudgery of November (I had fuck-all to write about for the past month), it’s refreshing to have multiple movies to be excited about in a single month again. WIth several projects from high-profile filmmakers, I’m expecting at least one or two of the movies listed here to place as some of my favorite of this year. But, as the great prophet Berra would say, it ain’t over til it’s over. So let’s enjoy my anticipation while we can for the movies of December 2013…